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Old 2nd August 2007, 14:39   #16
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Originally Posted by 2fast4u View Post
i have forgotten many times to turn off the stereo for over 10hours at a stretch (in a hurry to get to office) luckily its factory stereo with no additional amps.
normally the HU switches off when the key is switched off. But your HU might be connected in a different way.
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Old 2nd August 2007, 23:12   #17
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Originally Posted by navin View Post
you need an upgraded alternator and a dual battery isolator etc... so this can be done but why? are you often waiting for periods of more than 15 mins?
You might say that. off late, i prefer to let the engine run (on LPG) rather than get into these mods.
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Old 12th August 2007, 12:34   #18
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Originally Posted by low_bass_makker View Post
normally the HU switches off when the key is switched off. But your HU might be connected in a different way.
you are right!
but since my ignition key has worked its life it comes out even in Acces switch position and so it remained on.
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Old 26th October 2014, 19:32   #19
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Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

My driver has an annoying habit of listening to the car radio for at least a few hours a day when the engine is off. I have reprimanded him a few times but I suspect he continues to do it behind my back. My question is:
A) How harmful is it for the car battery?
B) Is there anything I can do to prevent him ? Taking the car keys from him is not a feasible option.
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Old 27th October 2014, 09:08   #20
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re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Car audio don't consume much power (unless you have high end speakers / woofers with amplifiers) Usage for a couple of hours shouldn't cause much harm to the battery.

PS: Does the "few hours" refers intermittent usage from morning till evening / night? (5~6 hours bundled together?)
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Old 27th October 2014, 09:58   #21
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re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Quote:
Originally Posted by thehighwayman View Post
B) Is there anything I can do to prevent him ? Taking the car keys from him is not a feasible option.
If you have a HU with a removable faceplate, you can just remove it,, when you leave the car.
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Old 27th October 2014, 10:08   #22
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re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Nice way around would be to gift him an good quality portable player and ask him to listen from it. If you are not sure about his activities after you leave you can install an dash cam and warn him about it.
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Old 27th October 2014, 12:42   #23
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re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Quote:
Originally Posted by giri1.8 View Post
If you are not sure about his activities after you leave you can install an dash cam and warn him about it.
Please correct me if I am wrong, Dash-Cam works when car is in motion and it stops recording after some time when it detects the car is not moving. Also Dash-Cams are powered by 12V power sockets which the driver can remove and do what he wish to

I think joybhowmik has suggested a good option.

Quote:
If you have a HU with a removable faceplate, you can just remove it,, when you leave the car.
If your car stereo system is not that big with amplifiers and woofers then it will not effect the battery that much.

Still if you wish that he should not use the car stereo to listen radio then ask him to listen radio on mobile handset, most of the now days handsets comes with in-built radio but in that case he will be needing the ear-phones and may recharge the phone battery using the car 12V power socket
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Old 27th October 2014, 14:57   #24
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Re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Quote:
Originally Posted by thehighwayman View Post
... A) How harmful is it for the car battery? ...
It is not harmful for the battery, no more harmful than using lights / headlamps, window winder, wipers etc. They all consume current from battery if engine is off. The issue is of excessive use draining power from the battery and leaving it in a state that it cannot crank the engine.

If he is listening to the car radio at a low-to-moderate volume, he can do it for a couple of hours without the battery draining significantly. However, if it is played at a loud volume with doors open (one cranks up volume even more), there is a chance that the battery might drain. This has happened to quite a few people.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thehighwayman View Post
... B) Is there anything I can do to prevent him ? Taking the car keys from him is not a feasible option.
Counseling him is a far better option than preventing him. Most probably he thinks he knows better than you, and that you are unnecessarily panicking. In a way he will only learn it the hard way if the car doesn't start after playing the car radio for hours together.
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Old 27th October 2014, 15:47   #25
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Re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Quote:
Originally Posted by thehighwayman View Post
B) Is there anything I can do to prevent him ? Taking the car keys from him is not a feasible option.
If the remote and key are two different units you can leave the remote behind and take the keys with you. So that the person has access to car via remote but not the keys.
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Old 27th October 2014, 16:41   #26
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Re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SaurabhSaran View Post
Please correct me if I am wrong, Dash-Cam works when car is in motion and it stops recording after some time when it detects the car is not moving. Also Dash-Cams are powered by 12V power sockets which the driver can remove and do what he wish to
I don't have enough knowledge about dash cams thought they would start recording as soon as car is switched on, not sure if low end ones have motion detection or anything.
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Old 27th October 2014, 16:52   #27
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Re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Normal SMF car batteries are not meant for a large number of deep discharge cycles. If he's listening every single day for a very long time, it just might reduce the life of the battery.
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Old 27th October 2014, 18:51   #28
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Re: Listen to car stereo with engine OFF?

I think it also depends on how long you travel ever day. Someone who drives 30-40 kms a day will have a better charged battery than someone who uses the car for 2-3 kms. The first person can afford to listen to music for a longer time and still have enough juice to start a car. Cars which have short running have to be careful. I remember the old days with Maruti 800, they recommend fair amount of morning drives to keep the battery healthy and fully charged.
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Old 28th October 2014, 14:20   #29
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Re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

Quote:
Originally Posted by reignofchaos View Post
Normal SMF car batteries are not meant for a large number of deep discharge cycles. ...
Inability to crank the engine is not deep discharge state. Even when not able to crank the engine, the battery will be able to power the ECU, HU, window winders etc. When it reaches deep discharge state (usually <9.6V no load), these will not function reliably.
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Old 28th October 2014, 15:13   #30
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Re: Listening to the car radio when the engine is off - Bad for the battery?

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Originally Posted by DerAlte View Post
Inability to crank the engine is not deep discharge state. Even when not able to crank the engine, the battery will be able to power the ECU, HU, window winders etc. When it reaches deep discharge state (usually <9.6V no load), these will not function reliably.
You don't need to reach 9.6V to reduce the life of a battery. If the battery has reached 9.6V, its as good as gone. Actually anything below 45-50% discharge of an SMF battery will reduce its life span drastically. At 50% charge, the voltage will be down to 12.1V or so.
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